Cable grab block



July 13, 1948. 5 RADDE 2,445,123

CABLE GRAB BLOCK Filed Feb. 22, 1943 earg FdJJ Patented July 13, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CABLE! GRAB BLOCK;

George Radde, Center Line, Mich.- ApplicationlFebruary 22, 1943, Serial- No. 476,789

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to'a grab block or clamp;-

ing device for cables or the like and especially to animproved device adapted to grip a cable securely and tightlywhile avoiding; anyv material danger of distorting, injuringor kinking the'cable at the: locality of the block. The deviceoff-the present'invention is susceptible of a variety' of uses, andmay'be employed to gripor-clamp -any' type of cable or rope whether formed: of wire strandscr. otherwise. One important use of the presentrgrab block is in connection with stopping off. a cable or line which has been made fast. at opposite ends, permitting a straight line pull to be exerted through the block to the portion of the. cable attached at its end to-the object to be moved, the opposite end of the cable being released afterapplying the grab block. Many other uses ofthe device will be apparent, such as for gripping tow-cables on barges or the like, bridge cables; hoisting cables, anchor cables, halyard's,

towing hawsers, and for various maritime pin-- poses:

An object of the present invention is toprovide an improved grab block or clamping device for cables or the like which will grip the cablefirmly shrinkage in diameter of the cable under tension While avoiding any danger of sharp bends or kinks in the cable likely to damage the cable when heavy strain is placed thereon.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved grab block or clamping device forcablesor the like of sturdy, durableconstruction in which the cable is adapted to be gripped between generally concavo-convex grippingxsurfaces of relatively movable cam members, which surfaces are adapted to engage the cable'smoothly and uniformly over a sufficient length of the cable to avoid excessive localized pressure points, and in which a substantially straightline pull through the device is possible without, however, weakening the cable, thus facilitatingwuse of the device for a wide variety of purposes and especially where it is desired to stopoffracable which is fast or secured at both ends.

Another-object of the invention is to provide an improveddevice of the foregoing type which iszrelatively; simple and compact in construction, easy:*to manipulate and to apply; to: a xcable to :be

gripped; and which is efiicient in use, while minimizing any material. tendency to-injure; weaken.

or damage the-cable;-

Other objects of this invention will-appear in i. the following; description and appended claims,

Fig;v 1 is a side elevation illustratin-ga clamping.

device or grab block constructed inzaccordan'ce withthe invention, the partsin this view being illustrated in open position.

Figv 2. is a fragmentary view, similar to Fig. l but illustratingythe' gate 'orlatch member in closed position for confiningthe cable within the,

device.

Fig; 3' is a fragmentaryiview, somewhat similar to Fig; 1, illustrating the parts in-closed-operative position.

Fig. his an enlarged section taken substantially through lines 4-4 of Fig. 3 looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the structure'shown in Fig. 3.

Before explainlngin detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited. in'its application to the details: of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

Also it is to be'understood that: the phraseology or terminology. employed herein'is for the purpose-of description andnot of limitation.

In the drawings there-is illustrated, by. way of example, .one embodiment of the invention comprising a-backing or supporting metal plate l0, ametallic face plate or front supporting-plate ll, andan'interposed metallic pressure plate; The plates H); II and 12 are secured togetherby.

means of 'a shoulder rivet I3 which has a cylindrical bearing portion 13a upon which the intermediate pressure plate Iris-preferably pivoted for limitedfipivotal or swinging motion, as hereinafter described.-

The presentdeviceaalso comprises a cam lever or pressure" member I4 which is mounted for pivotal or swinging motion upon, the backing platelllt- As, illustrated in Fig. 4,;thecam lever I 4 is rotatable upon a bearing; sleeve" l5 through which extends the shank of a rivet l6. Also mounted for pivotal-orswinging motion upon the sleeve l5:is:a latch= or gate member H which in its closed position shown inFig. 2 forms in effect a portion of the front supporting Eplatev I L; From the construction shown in Fig.- 4* itwilla-be seerr that the swinging lever land latch or' gate member I13 are'securedltowthe backing plate lit by; means;.-of thew-rivet |6,= therebeingza friction- 3 washer I8 between one head of the rivet and the face of the latch member I'l, the construction being such as to permit the elements It and H to be swung on the sleeve I in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1.

The cam lever I4 is provided with a projecting arm I9, and to the outer end of this arm is pivoted a clevis 2D to which may be attached one end of a cable 2i. The cam lever I4, at its opposite side from the arm I9, has an enlarged cam portion provided with a peripheral arcuate groove 22 which extends the full length of the cam portion. The groove 22 provides a cable engaging surface which is convex and curvilinear in shape. The pressure plate I2 is also provided with an arcuate cable engaging groove 23, this groove being formed on the inner edge of the plate I2 and providing a curvilinear generally concave surface cooperable with the convex grooved surface 22 to embrace the cable to be gripped. It will be seen that the backing plate I [I extends a distance beyond the grooved edge 23 of the pressure plate I2, and in like manner the face plate ii is extended at Ila beyond this groove. Thus, the plates I0 and II form a channel, the base of which is formed by the groove 23.

The latch or gate member H has a projecting latch portion I'Ia adapted to fit into a recess 2t in the portion Ila of the face plate. When the member I1 is in closed position as shown in Fig. 2, the arcuate edge Ilb of this member fits smoothly against the edge 24a of the face plate. This edge is preferably grooved so that the rounded edge IIb will fit thereinto when the member I7 is closed. Similarly the ribbed edge 24b of the plate II cooperates with a grooved edge of the patch IT.

The pressure member i2 is preferably made separate from the supporting plates It! and II so as to permit it to be mounted for limited movement about the pivot I3. However, if desired, the member I2 may be made integral with the plates I0 and II or may be secured rigidly thereto. In the present instance, the pressure member I2 has an arcuate slot 25 through which extends a rivet 26. With this construction the member I2 may swing about the pivot I3 a distance limited by the length of the lost motion slot 25,

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate in successive steps the manner in which a cable 27 may be stopped off or gripped intermediate its ends. The arm I9 is swung counter-clockwise so as to lift the cam portion of the lever out of the channel between the supporting plates I9 and II, and the latch or gate member I! is swung outwardly, the

position of the parts after the foregoing operation being shown in Fig. 1. When the latch or gate member I! is lifted to its position. of Fig. 1 a slot is opened into the side of the channel formed between the plates Ill and II. This slot is formed above the edges 24a and 24b of the member I I which is thus cut off short of the outer end of the backing plate It]. With the parts in this position the cable 21 may be passed bodily through the slot, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and thence shifted into the channel between plates Ill and II as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. Thereupon the latch or gate member I! is closed, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby confining the cable within the channel so that it cannot be removed therefrom. In the next operation the handle I9 is grasped to swing the cam lever in a clockwise direction to force the cable 21 into the groove 23 of the pressure plate I2. The cable is thus cammed smoothly into, the base of the channel and gripped between the grooved edges 22 and 23 of the cam or pressure members. As seen in Fig. 3, the groove 23 continues outwardly beyond the cam member I4 on a reverse curve 2311 over the upper nose of the pressure member I2 and thence the portion 21a of the cable is extended to an object to which its end is attached. The opposite portion 21b of the cable extends to a second object to which its end is attached. When the cam member I4 is shifted into the position shown in Fig. 3 to grip the cable against the member I 2, the latter may move a limited amount under the pressure of the member I 4 so as to accommodate, for example, variations in the diameter of the cable, permitting a smooth uniform engagement of the cable throughout the length of the groove 22,

It will be noted that the front plate II and the gate piece II, when connected as in Fig. 3, act as a unitary plate and cooperate with the back plate ID in transmitting any stress caused by the pressure of the cable 21 on the pressure member I4. It will be observed, in connection with the particular embodiment herein illustrated, that when a pull to the left is exerted on cable portion 2111, see Fig. 3, this force will be greater than the opposing force caused by the friction between the pressure plate I2 and the pressure member I4, thus producing a force tending to cause the cable to slide to the left between the cable-engaging surfaces of the plate I2 and the member I4. However, the pressure member I4 has a cable-engaging surface of varying radius; so that a clockwise rotation of the member I4 causes a gripping action on the cable 27 between the plate I2 and the member I4 which causes a gripping pressure and resultant friction which is greater than the force tending to slide the cable to the left. The rotating force on arm I9 is produced by reason of the fact that the pivot I6 lies below the straight line connecting cable portion 27a and cable 2I when the cable 21 is in place between members I2 and I 4 as illustrated in Fig. 3. The pull exerted on arm I9 in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 3 is transmitted uniformly to the front and back plates I I and Ill. The portion of this pull or force taken by plate II is transmitted thereto by gate piece I1 through the interfitting portions I'Ia and 240, and hence when the grab block is under tension the gate piece will be held tightly in place against release.

I claim:

1. A clamping device for cables or the like comprising a support having spaced substantially parallel side members, a cam lever pivotally mounted between said members and shiftable therebetween to grip a cable between curved clamping surfaces on the lever and support, one of said side members comprising a part attached to the other side member and a second part swingable relatively to said first part to form between said parts an opening through which a portion of the cable between its ends may be inserted bodily into the space between said members.

2. A clamping device for cables or the like comprising a support having spaced substantially parallel side members, a cam lever pivotally mounted between said members and shiftable therebetween to grip a cable between curved clamping surfaces on the lever and support, one of said side members comprising a part attached to the other side member and a second part shiftable relatively to said first part to form between said parts an opening through which a portion of the cable between its ends may be inserted bodily into the space between said members, said part and cam lever having a common pivotal mounting.

3. A clamping device for cables or the like comprising a support having spaced substantially parallel side members, a cam lever pivotally mounted between said members and shiftable therebetween to grip a cable between curved clamping surfaces on the lever and support, one of said side members comprising a part attached to the other side member and a second part swingable in the plane of the first part to form between adjacent, edges of said parts an opening through which a portion of the cable between its ends may be inserted bodily into the space between said members, said second part when swung into position to close said opening havin an interlocking connection with said first named part.

4. In a device for gripping a cable or the like, a support comprising a base having front and back walls projectingtherefrom and spaced apart to provide a channel, said base being formed at the bottom of the channel between said walls withv a curvilinear cable clamping groove to receive the cable with the cable confined between said walls, one of said walls comprisin a portion fixed to the other wall and a second portion swingable to form with said first portion an opening to permit a portion of the cable between the ends thereof to be inserted through the opening into the channel, and a clamping member pivoted to the support and shiftable into position within the channel to clamp the cable in said groove, said second named portion being shiftable into position to close said opening.

5. In a device for gripping a cable or the like, a support comprising two spaced substantially parallel walls forming a channel therebetween and terminating at their inner edges in a curvilinear base portion closing the bottom of the channel and formed with a cable clamping surface, a clamping member pivoted to the outer end portions of said walls and lying therebetween so as to swing into and out of the channel to grip the cable against said surface along the bottom of the channel, one of said walls comprising a portion fixed to the other wall and an outer end portion swingable about the pivotal axis of said clamping member into position to permit a portion of the cable between its ends to be bodily passed between the portions of said One wall into the channel.

6. In a device for gripping a cable or the like, a support comprising two spaced substantially parallel walls forming a channel therebetween and terminating at their inner edges in a curvilinear base portion closing the bottom of the channel and formed with a cable clamping surface, a clamping member pivoted to the outer end portions of said walls and lying therebetween so as to swing into and out of the channel to grip the cable against said surface along the bottom of the channel, one of said walls comprising a portion fixed to the other wall and an outer end portion swingable about the pivotal axis of said clamping member into position to permit a portion of the cable between its ends to be bodily passed between the portions of said one wall into the channel, and an interlockin connection between said last named wall portions.

7. In a device for gripping a cable or the like, a support comprising two spaced substantially parallel walls forming a channel therebetween and terminating at their inner edges in a curvilinear base portion closing the bottom of the channel and formed with a cable clamping surface, a clamping member pivoted to the outer ends of said walls and lyin therebetween so as to swing into and out of the channel to grip the cable against said surface along the bottom of the channel, one of said walls including a part fixed to the other wall and an outer end part coplanar with said fixed part and swingable relatively thereto, the swingable part having an interlocks ing connection with the fixed part to provide substantially a continuous wall and also adapted to be swun away from the fixed part to provide therewith a gap in the wall through which a portion .of the cable between its ends may be bodily inserted into the channel.

GEORGE RADDE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 601,207 Hicks Mar. 22, 1898 866,053 Chliger et al Sept. 17, 1907 1,067,412 Eckhardt et al July 15, 1913 1,085,559 Flint Jan. 27, 1914 1,438,261 Raney Dec. 12, 1922 2,245,811 ORussa June 7, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 637,476 Germany as Oct. 29, 1936 

